JPH03180352A - Ink jet printing head - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to inkjet printheads.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 5 shows a conventional print head for an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by heating a heating element in the recording ink and forming ink droplets by the pressure of the vapor generated at that time to make them fly.

That is, on the surface of the substrate 18, there are a plurality of heating elements 19 and a selection electrode 20a and a common electrode 20 connected to each heating element.
b is formed by a thin film forming technique or the like, and an ink supply hole 21 for supplying ink is provided.

Further, on the surface of the substrate 18, there is a frame-shaped spacer plate 22 and a partition plate 23 for preventing the ink ejection action of one heating element from affecting the adjacent ejection port (to prevent mutual interference of thermal energy).
Multiple units are installed.

A discharge plate 24 having a plurality of discharge ports 25 formed therein is closely fixed to the spacer plate 22.

Therefore, the ink is supplied from the ink supply hole 21 to the gap between the substrate 18 and the ejection plate 24, filling it, and electricity is applied to the heating element 19 via the selection electrode 20a and the common electrode 20b.
The ink in contact with the recording medium is heated and vaporized, and the ink is momentarily pushed out from the ejection port 25 by the formation of vapor bubbles to form flying ink droplets, and the ink droplets are applied to the recording medium to print.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional print head, a spacing plate 2 is provided on the substrate 18.
2 or a plurality of partition plates 23 must be attached to predetermined positions, and as the number of heating elements 19 increases, the number of partition plates 23 also increases, making manufacturing and assembly extremely complicated, leading to increased costs. was there.

The present invention has been devised in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print head that is easy to assemble and reduces costs.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses a single slit plate to perform the functions of the conventional spacing plate and partition plate, and its means include a plurality of heating elements and a plurality of heating elements. 6. A substrate equipped with a selection electrode and a common electrode connected to a heating element and an ink supply hole, and a slit plate joined to the substrate and having a plurality of horizontal slits in parallel facing each of the heating elements. and a discharge plate joined to the slit plate and provided with discharge ports facing each of the horizontal slits.

Another feature is that the discharge plate is provided with a plurality of discharge ports facing each horizontal slit, or a single strip-shaped discharge port facing all of the horizontal slits is vertically bored.

Another advantage is that the slit plate and the discharge plate can be integrally molded.

[Effect]

Ink flows into the horizontal slit from the ink supply hole and fills the ejection port (the ink does not flow out from the ejection port due to the surface tension of the ink).

In this state, electricity is applied to the heating element via the selection electrode and the common electrode to heat the heating element.

Due to the heating of the heating element, the ink in contact with the heating element is heated and vaporized, forming a vapor bubble, and the ink is instantaneously pushed out from the ejection port to form flying ink droplets.The ink droplets are applied to the recording medium to print. .

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of heating elements 2 are arranged at a predetermined pitch on a substrate 1 made of glass, ceramics, etc.
and a selection electrode 3a and a common electrode 3 connected to each heating element 2.
b are formed by a thin film forming technique or the like, and a vertically elongated ink supply hole 4 is provided.

On this substrate 1, a slit plate 6 in which a plurality of horizontal slits 5 forming ink flow paths are bored in parallel so as to face each heating element 2 one-on-one is closely bonded, and one side of each horizontal slit 5 is bonded. The end portion of the ink supply hole 4 faces the ink supply hole 4.

Furthermore, the discharge plate 7 is tightly joined onto the slit plate 6 so that the plurality of discharge ports 8 formed in the discharge plate 7 face each of the horizontal slits 5 one-to-one.

3 and 4 show another embodiment, in which instead of the discharge plate 7 having a plurality of discharge ports 8 in the previous embodiment, a single strip-shaped discharge plate facing all of the horizontal slits 5 is used. The ejection plate 9 is provided with an outlet 10, and the intersection of each horizontal slit 5 and the strip-shaped ejection opening 10 serves as an ink ejection hole.

Since the components other than the discharge plate 9 are the same as those in the previous embodiment,
The same reference numerals are given and the explanation is omitted.

In each of the above embodiments, the slit plate and the discharge plate are formed separately, but they may be integrally formed.

Further, the formation positions of the ejection ports 8 and the strip-shaped ejection ports 10 do not necessarily have to be opposed to the heating element 2, but may be formed near the end of the horizontal slit 5 on the side opposite to the ink supply hole 4.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention has the following effects.

(a) Since the elements that function as conventional spacing plates and a plurality of partition plates are composed of a single slit plate, assembly is extremely easy and costs can be reduced.

(b) Since the slit plate has a plurality of horizontal slits drilled in parallel, it does not have many blank areas like conventional spacing plates, so it has high rigidity and is easy to handle.

(c) Since the space between the horizontal slits of the slit plate serves as a partition wall, it is possible to prevent mutual interference of thermal energy of the heating elements.

(d) Although the horizontal slit needs to face the heating element, the ejection port only needs to be located near the end of the horizontal slit opposite to the ink supply hole, so the ejection plate can be easily aligned.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and Fig. 5. is an exploded perspective view of a conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Substrate, 2... Heating element, 3a... Selective electrode,
3b... Common electrode, 4... Ink supply hole, 5...
Horizontal slit, 6...Slit plate, 7.9...Discharge plate, 8...Discharge port, 10...Striped discharge port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate including a plurality of heating elements, a selection electrode and a common electrode connected to each of the heating elements, and an ink supply hole; An inkjet print head comprising: a slit plate in which a plurality of opposing horizontal slits are bored in parallel, and an ejection plate joined to the slit plate and provided with ejection ports facing each of the horizontal slits. . 2. Claim 1 in which the slit plate and the discharge plate are integrally molded.
Inkjet printhead as described. 3. The inkjet print head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ejection plate is provided with a plurality of ejection ports facing each horizontal slit. 4. The inkjet print head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ejection plate is provided with a single strip-shaped ejection port vertically perforated so as to face all of the horizontal slits.